A Cuban Getaway!

Growing up my family never had the money for vacations. Our idea of a vacation was to pile everyone into the car and drive the 5 hours to grandmas house. I'm not saying that I didnt have fun, all I am saying is that I always wanted to go to the ocean. Living in Canada it can be a little tricky to see the ocean. I have never been interested in the cold ocean... Never really felt the need to swim with iceburgs... Although I would love to get pictures of them. So every year vacation time came around and back in the car we would get.

Finally two years ago my partner and I desided to take a vacation to Cuba. I was thrilled! In all my 27 years I had never been on a plane or seen the ocean and I could not wait!

You know when you are so excited to do something that every second leading up to that event is torture? We booked the trip two weeks in advance and I spent every spare moment looking at the floor plans and pictures of the resort we were staying at. Pure torture!

I loved the plane ride! Well almost loved it.. Taking off was cool, the pure force of the plane picking up speed and leaving the runway was an amazing experience. I managed to get a window seat and was amazed by some of the things I saw on the way. Like I thought you could see people and cars and buildings from up there. Not so much! Landing was also cool! However the middle portion was hell... I was so bored! It truly is like sitting on a bus.(And I hate busses) The movies sucked and I couldnt read because reading in moving objects makes my tummy do acrobatics.

I did have a disapointment upon arival. You see we arrived in the middle of the night. I had fantisies about what my first time seeing the ocean would be like. "I would walk up to the sands edge, pause, breath the salty air, then run down to the warm refreshing water and enter like a kid in a candy store. Jumping right in, going under, feeling, tasting, breathing everything that is the ocean." It didnt happen quite this way. We were traveling with a friend who frequents Cuba, she would not wait to go to the ocean. So the story goes: We get our rooms and meet up at the lobby bar for our first Cuban drinks of the evening. I am then lead against my will to the ocean. Remember the fantisy? So on the beach I stop and look in the direction of the water... I see nothing but pitch black, I can smell it and hear it vut it might as well be recorded sounds because I can't see it. Nor am I brave enough to dive in.. what if there was a shark I wouldn't be able to see it. So we walk along the beach for a few minutes.. My fantisy deflated before returning to the lobby bar.

I lived out the fantisy on the morning visit to the ocean! So all worked out. The Ocean in Cuba is stunning! Clear blue water white sand, everything I had always hoped it would be! I can't underastand why people swim in the pool and sit around the pool when the ocan is merley steps away? The pool was nice but no comparison to the greatness of the ocean.

The first trip was so beautiful that we went back again that year. My partner went three times.

It was great fun. The people are amazing, the drinks were, lets just say flowing. The food on the other hand.. nasty! Take my word for it bring hot sauce! We went on two day trips, one into Havana and the other snorkeling and swimming with dolphins. Havana was hot and crowded but beautiful, snorkeling left a lot to the imagination! Swimming with the dolphins was cool but not long enough. Over all it was worth the time and money.

Have I convinced you to take the trip to Cuba yet? I promise you wont regret the decision.

Here are some more pictures from our two trips to Cuba. Enjoy!